Crossing Over
by cag45
Summary: This story happens somewhere in the first season. It yet again has Daniel as a central character. Sorry, I find him easy to write about. I've drifted a little in to the "supernatural realm" so please, forgive me and just go with it. It's not too unbelievable for most folks, as it involves a recorded phenomenon.


Daniel and Evan McFadden were having the time of their lives. At eighteen and sixteen respectively, the two high spirited teens rellished any opportunity they had to get away from the watchful eyes of their big brothers.

Adam and Brian had raised them from the time they were little boys and Crane, well he was the family worrier. With all three of them seemingly watching every move their little brothers' made, it was easy to understand how Daniel and Evan could feel smothered...Add Adam's new wife Hannah to that mix and instead of being parentless, the two felt more like they had four parents on their tails every second of the day.

So when Adam had sent them to town to buy feed, the two lit off toward Murphys without a second look back. They had spring fever and they knew that it being saturday, the girls would all be stirring in town. They did what they were asked to do first, picking up the feed. Daniel couldn't help but tease the young teenager behind the counter. It was Cleo Wheeler. Their younger brother Ford had a huge crush on her...and she had just as big a crush on Ford, in fact. Daniel could never pass up an opportunity to tease them in his good natured way.

"Hey there Cleo. Sorry I didn't bring Ford with me. I'm sure you'd rather have seen him instead of this ugly mug I've got tagging along." Daniel smiled, motioning to Evan.

"Hey, you shut up. Even on my worst day I'm better looking than you are!" Evan shot back in defiance at Daniel.

Cleo stared at the two McFaddens' and blushed. She hated when they teased her about Ford. "It...it's good to see you boys." Cleo started then offered, "I guess you're all kind of handsome."

"I know I am. I'm the best looking guy in Carbon County." Daniel replied proudly. But I guess looks aren't everything. Ford for example, he's lucky to have a pretty little philly like you looking in his direction. I guess the McFadden boys just have that natural animal magnetism. Even the ugly ones." Daniel proclaimed.

Cleo blushed even more. Daniel was such a cut up. She knew he was just teasing. He was half right. He was certainly a cutie pie...but there was absolutely nothing wrong with any of the McFadden boys in the looks department. From Adam on down the line to little Guthrie.

"Do y'all need anything else?" Cleo asked timidly, still slightly embarassed by Daniel's words.

"Nah, that's it. We gotta get going. We wanna see who else might be in town, before we have to head back to the ranch. Thanks Cleo." Came Evan's reply.

After cruising the main drag of Murphys, the boys, not finding any girls or any other kind of trouble for that matter, sped off toward home, with Daniel still behind the wheel.

"Look Daniel. There's Tommy and Dwayne on their three wheelers!" Evan shouted, pointing over towards the pasture just beyond the ditch at the edge of the road. "Man those things sure look like a lot of fun. I wish Adam would let us get one." Evan said longingly.

"Ain't a matter of _letting us_, it's a matter of _affording one" _Daniel corrected his younger brother.

"Wonder what one of them would cost?" Evan asked

"A lot! Besides, you've got Diablo, whatcha need one of those things for? You gotta learn to stop wishing for things you ain't got and appreciate what you do have!" Daniel answered.

"You sound like _Dad!"_ Evan said to Daniel and Daniel knew that Evan was referring to Adam.

About that time, Tommy put up his middle finger, flipping them off. Daniel cried out "Hey, you jerk. Watch yourself you little punk." Daniel called after him.

"Looks like they wanna play," Evan laughed.

"Oh yeah? Well let's play with them!" Daniel found a flatter part of the ditch just then and suddenly turned the wheel of their old International pickup and took off after the boys on the ATV.

"Hey, you're crazy! You ain't gonna catch those guys! Evan called out. Just as the trucks' back tires hit the bottom of the ditch, they felt a vibration under their feet. The truck suddenly sounded ten times louder than normal. Daniel stopped, threw the truck into reverse and pulled the truck back out of the ditch and onto the road. There, they could see through the windshield...the trucks' muffler laying on the embankment.

"Shit! Adam's gonna kill us!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Us? I don't think so. I was just sitting over here minding my own business. This was all your doing, slick!" came Evans' indignant reply.

"Hey, we're in this together. I didn't hear you tell me not to do it." Daniel spat back, annoyed with what had happened.

"Like I had a chance!" Evan answered, still indignant.

Daniel hopped out of the truck, picked up the muffler and inspected it. "Aww, I can put it back on. It ain't hurt. I'll get home and have it put back on before anybody else sees it. You," Daniel turned and pointed to Evan "just keep your big trap shut."

"Ok, I won't say nothin' to Adam. That's all I'm gonna promise. If Hannah asks me anything, you're dead. I ain't lyin' to her." Evan responded, hands held up in the air as a show of innocence.

"Great". Daniel growled.

Daniel pulled the truck up to the barn doors and partially inside. He hoped the barn would hide any view of it from the house. Evan laughed at his brother one last time then offered a quick "See ya! Have a good time!"

"Traitor!" Daniel spat back."

He hurriedly got the muffler out of the back of the truck and got to work. He gathered up all the tools he'd need and then began jacking up the truck so he could climb under. His first attempt failed, as the old jack slipped when Daniel got it about halfway raised. "Shit. You stupid old piece of junk!" Daniel cursed as the jack failed. He began to jack up the truck a second time. This time, the jack held the truck in place. Daniel slipped underneath, without even bothering to lay a cloth or horse blanket down underneath...or secure the truck further by placing blocks behind the back wheels. He was in too big a hurry to take the time. Adam or one of the others might come out at any second.

Evan ran inside and was about to make his way up the stairs when Brian called out. "Hey, where you knuckleheads been? Did y'all get the feed?" Brian asked

"Uh, we just got a little sidetracked in town. The feed? Oh, yes, it's in the truck. Daniel's unloading it in the barn. He pulled the truck in so he could unload it easier. " Evan answered carefully.

"Ok, Daniel is unloading without your help? What are you holding over his head this time?" Crane studied their little brother carefully. These two were always blackmailing each other. They definately found it easy to find trouble and when one would find it, the other would torment them until they'd fessed up to their crimes.

"Let's just say if I tell you, then I can't hold it over his head anymore!" Evan answered with a raucous laugh.

"You two are terrible to each other!" Hannah offered walking from the kitchen. "Anyone like a sandwich?" She held up a platter of sandwiches that she intended to distribute amongst the boys. Lunch time on saturdays were informal at best. The boys were all constantly on the go. It was all she could do to hold them all down long enough to make them put something on their stomachs. They all three greedily snatched up the sandwiches.  
"Thanks," Evan replied, already with a mouthful.

"Manners." Crane looked at his little brother disgusted with how he always spoke with his mouth full.

"Thanks a lot Hannah." Brian and Crane said as they took a sandwich each from the platter.

"So, you say Daniels' in the barn? Guess I'll take some out to him too. God knows if I'll find Ford or Guth."

"Where's Adam?" Crane asked.

"Taking a nap. After going over the books with you last night, he couldn't sleep last night. He's had a headache all day." Hannah offered.

"You'd think he'd be used to us being broke by now." Crane answered with a small laugh.

"That's not the way your big brother's wired. He worries about keeping the roof over this family's head. Guess we can't blame him for that." Hannah replied. Then, "I'm going out to the barn."

"Yeah, I'll go too. That's a lot of feed for one person to unload." Brian offered. When they stepped out onto the porch, Brian could see the front of the truck sticking out of the barn doors. It looked funny though. "Has Dan'l got that thing jacked up or something?" Brian asked Hannah as he made his way down the steps.

Just then, they heard and saw it at the same time. The truck crashed to the ground, the front tires suddenly and loudly meeting the ground. Hannah froze in horror as Brian cried out "Dan'l! Are you under there?" Brian raced across the yard, when he was positioned directly in front of the barn doors, he saw a sight that sickened him. Daniel's legs were sticking out from underneath the truck, the truck seemingly resting on top of his chest.

"Hannah, Crane! Call for an ambulance and then get out here and help me!" Brian yelled.

7Bf7B

Daniel had almost completed his task of securing the muffler. He was positioned so that his chest was resting directly underneath the engine block. He literally only had maybe three more turns of the wrench when all Hell broke loose.

He heard the creak of the jack and felt the underside of the truck shift. It happened in a split second. There was no time to react. The truck crashed down on him, the engine block resting squarely on his chest. He was pinned. He couldn't get free. He couldn't breathe. His chest was so heavy. Daniel knew he was in trouble. He'd read about this kind of thing in those car magazines he and Brian shared. _He shouldn't have trusted that stupid jack. He should have taken time to block up the truck, like he usually did. _It was too late to second guess his mistakes now. He was certain that he was gonna die under this thing. He was already struggling not to lose consciousness. He couldn't yell for help. He was powerless to do anything. Everything started to darken around him and finally, the darkness consumed him.

When Daniel woke up, he saw brightness everywhere. There was a magnificent ball of light coming toward him. It started out small, then got bigger and bigger. As the light expanded in size, Daniel could see something within it...a person, not a thing. Was it an angel? Was he dead? He thought surely he must be dead. He wasn't upset by that thought however. He was in awe of this light. He could hear the most beautiful music eminating from this light. Was this person making the music? He stared up at the figure. It was a woman. As she got closer and closer to him, he recognized her. "Mom? then Momma? It's really you!" Daniel couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was in Heaven and their mother was there! Where's Daddy? He heard himself ask.

His mother's face descended right above him now. He's here with us. We are both with you all the time. "I can't believe I'm here with y'all. I miss you mom. I love you so much!" Daniel cried.  
"You don't have to miss what's there all the time Danny. We are always here, with you and your brothers. But, you have to go back to them now. It's not time for you to be with us."

"What? No Mom! I want to go with you and Daddy. It's gonna hurt too bad if I go back. Please let me stay." Daniel cried out again.

"It's not time for you Danny. You have big dreams yet to realize. You have a lot more to do before your time. Go back Danny. Turn away from the light." His mother's voice said calmly and soothingly. She reached out as though she might touch is face. He couldn't feel her hand, but he felt a soothing warmth that seemed to come from it. "She repeated her words. Go back to them Danny. Junior and all of your brothers need you. She began to drift away, becoming smaller and smaller. Daniel wanted to follow her, but he couldn't. He didn't know how. He called out to her one more time. "Mom! Don't leave me. Please don't leave me again!" Daniel whimpered. Suddenly, the light surrounding him had faded and he was once again in darkness.

Hannah screamed and rushed inside to call an ambulance. Adam! Evan! Get down here quick! Hannah didn't even recognize the sound of her own voice. It was so shrill. After hanging up the phone, she could hear Evan's footsteps lumbering down the stairs. Then, another set of footsteps...Adam's. "What is it Hannah?" Evan asked in an excited but worried tone.

"Daniel's pinned under the truck in the barn. It fell off the jack and on top of him." Hannah cried.  
"Oh God no!" Adam mutterred. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Danny" He yelled and ran out the door, Evan and Hannah trailing behind him.

Brian and Crane reached the truck at the same time. "Dan'l!" Brian screamed. "Can you hear me parnter?" Brian asked but got no response.

"Come on Crane. We gotta get this truck jacked up. Grab those blocks stacked over by the tack room. We'll secure them under the back tires so the truck doesn't roll of the jack this time. Crane grabbed two big blocks and slung one down by the back tire on the drivers side then ran over to the passenger side and laid the other block down. Brian was already busy jacking up the truck when Adam, Hannah and Evan reached the barn.

"Adam!" Brian said forcefully, "slide that block under that tire, Crane you do the same on that side. We gotta get him out now!" Brian's words cut through the pain in Adam's head.

Adam went on autopilot. He was so afraid, he couldn't process what was happening right in front of him. There was nothing but silence beneath the truck. It didn't look like there was any hope for Daniel, as far as he could tell.

As Brian jacked up the truck off of Daniel's chest, Adam and Evan eached grabbed a leg and carefully slid him out from underneath. Hannah immediately checked to see if he had a pulse. When she didn't find one she put her ear next to his mouth. "Crane!" she yelled hysterically. "He's not breathing! We gotta do CPR!"

Crane stared at his little brother. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Daniel...not breathing? This couldn't be happening.

"Crane!" Adam yelled. "Listen to Hannah. You've got to do this! You know CPR!"

"I...I don't know. His ribs are probably broken. I might puncture his lungs." Crane cried, looking hopelessly at Hannah.  
"Crane listen to me. We have to do this. An ambulance is on its way. They'll help him if that happens. But we gotta get him breathing!" Hannah cried out.

"Ok, ok, ok. I got it." Crane answered, his breath was coming out fast and short and he was afraid he might himself pass out if he didn't help the kid now.

Brian stared at Daniels face in horror of the sight. He was drained of all color. He looked dead! He was dead, technically. He watched as Crane straddled their brother and Hannah tilted Daniel's head back and pinched his nose. They started to work, looking very skilled Brian thought to themself. As though it was something they did every day. After a couple of minutes, Hannah paused to feel for a pulse.

"He still doesn't have a pulse Crane." She cried out. She thought she'd never been so afraid. Adam's kid brothers' life was in her hands now. She had to save him.

"Crane began compressions again and Hannah continued to breathe into Daniel's mouth, taking her cues from Crane.

Adam could hear the sirens coming up the drive, he ran out of the barn and waived to the sheriff's car and the ambulance which was right behind the sheriff. He motioned them over to the barn. The paramedics took over CPR for Crane and Hannah, who were by this time exhausted.  
"How long's he been down?" One paramedic asked Hannah. "Uh, I...I'm not sure. Maybe three minutes, I'm just not sure." came her faint reply. "Save him!" She heard herself scream.

"We've got a pulse!" The second paramedic announced, then they immediately started an IV. They could hear Daniel's ragged breathing. It sounded terrible. He sounded like he was gurgling. _He must be getting fluid in his lungs. _Crane thought to himself.

"Ok, we need to scoop and go, he's got a collapsed lung. We're gonna need a medical history. Someone needs to ride along so we can call it in to County." The first paramedic stated.

"I'll go," Adam offered and he walked beside the gurney carrying Daniel. Suddenly Daniel's eyes fluttered open. He looked around confused and called out in a very faint whisper. "Mom?"

He must be delirous from the pain. Adam thought to himself as he squeezed Daniel's hand just before he blacked out again. "It's Adam, Danny. I'm right here. You're gonna be fine." Adam offered to his little brother, then climbed in to the front of the ambulance. The sped away, down the gravel road and onto the main roadway.

Ford and Guthrie had heard the sirens. They were off playing in the stream. They ran back to the house just in time to see Hannah, Brian and Crane rushing towards the jeep. Evan was running toward his little brothers screaming their names. "What's going on?" Ford asked.

"Daniel's hurt. They took him to the hospital. Where've y'all been?" Evan asked his two younger brothers but called after Hannah. "Hannah I found them! Can we go, too please?" "Stay here for now Ev and look after the place. I promise we'll cal as soon as we know anything!" Brian yelled. And with that...they sped off down the driveway.

At the hospital, the paramedics quickly rushed an unconscious Daniel through the double doors and back into the treatment area. Here Adam was again, like so many times before. Standing helpless in the middle of the waiting area, desperately waiting for word on a loved one. The desk clerk had shoved a barrage of paperwork towards him and demanded that he complete all of it. _ Damned paperwork! We've all been in here so many times, they should have all of our information ten times over. _Adam grumbled to himself. He'd barely started the process of filling out everything when Crane, Hannah and Brian rushed through the doors.

"They told you anything yet?" Crane asked, completely out of breath.

"Nope. They took him back a few minutes ago. They said something about inserting a chest tube?" Adam replied.

"Yeah, that's to reinflate the lung...or lungs. Did they tell you if it's just one lung or both?" Crane asked worriedly, still trying to catch his breath.

"No, they didn't tell me anything." Adam replied, looking disgusted with his own answer.

"Well, how did he do on the ride over here, Adam?" A worried Hannah stepped up and put a loving hand on her husband.

"He did ok. He was having trouble breathing...because of the lungs, I guess. But he had a steady pulse and heartbeat. Thanks to you girl! You and Crane." Adam replied, brushing Hannah's hair away from her face.

"The paramedics got him back, Adam, it wasn't us." Crane said flatly.

"It doesn't matter. Y'all did what needed to be done and that's why he's still with us." Adam replied.

"For now," Brian spat.

"I don't wanna hear that kinda talk out of any of you, you got that?" Adam said irritatedly.

"Adam, lets face facts. He stopped breathing for a long time." Brian shot back.

"It wasn't that long Brian" Hannah spoke softly to him. "It was just a couple minutes, give or take. It just seemed like a long time when we were in the middle of it all."

She placed a soothing hand on the side of Brian's cheek. Why don't we sit down? All we can do now is wait. Hannah advised the three men.

7Bf7B

Another half hour passed and finally, a doctor emerged from the double doors and asked for Daniel's family.

"I'm his eldest brother doc. I've been his legal guardian since he was just shy of nine years old." Adam reached out and shook the doctor's hand.

"Hello, Mr. McFadden. I'm Doctor Stone. I'm an E.R. physician on staff here at County. Your brother is extremely lucky. While most of these types of accidents don't turn out this well, your brother seems to only have suffered some broken ribs at the top of his ribcage, one which punctured his left lung...likely during CPR. We inserted a chest tube to drain out the fluid and reinflated his lung. He's resting now. Somehow, he managed to not suffer any further internal injuries as far as we can see at this point. Be thankful that someone was on hand that knew CPR. I'm running brain and chest CT's now as a precaution. I already ran an EEG and it seems he didn't suffer any sort of brain damage from the lack of oxygen." Dr. Stone explained.

"That's great doc. Thank you, thank you so much. Can we see him?" Adam asked, relief pouring out of his mouth along with his words.

"In a little while. He's still in radiology and I'm going to admit him to a room. The nurse will come let you know his room number as soon as we get him settled in." Dr. Stone replied.

"How long will he have to stay doc?" Brian asked.

"If the CT's are normal, he should be able to go home in a couple of days. Three days, tops." the doctor answered, then turned and headed back through the double doors.

Hannah and the brothers all sighed in relief at the news and quickly turned to share in a group hug. "Thank God." Adam stated. "He's ok. He's gonna be ok."

After about forty five minutes a nurse came out and gave them Daniel's room number. She told them that he was sleeping, and suggested that for now, only one should go in. Adam slipped quietly into the hospital room and saw Daniel lying in the bed. He had a couple of bruises on his left cheek. He seemed to be resting and not in any pain. He had some color back, though he was still very pale.

Adam sat down next to his bed and reached over and picked up Daniel's right hand and held it gently. Daniel began to stir and when he opened his eyes, Adam held his breath, hoping that he wouldn't ask that gut wrenching questing he'd asked Adam earlier, before being placed in the ambulance. _Mom?_

Daniel opened his eyes and looked around the room. He looked over to see who had his hand and saw Adam sitting quietly, his eyes brimming with tears. "What happened?" Daniel asked him.

"The truck fell on top of you...Apparently you were putting the muffler back on. Sound familiar?" Adam asked softly while running his free hand along the younger mans cheek.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that Adam. I didn't want you to get mad at me." Daniel answered, a flood of memories rushing through his head.

"So you thought it'd be better to risk your life?" Adam asked, but he asked it with a smile that let Daniel know he wasn't trying to reprimand him.

"Sorry, it was pretty stupid now that I think about it. I knew better, I was just in a hurry." Daniel answered, his eyes dropping now to take personal stock of his condition.

His chest was sore, his arm hurt from the IV, no doubt the medicine flowing through it was the cause of the burning pain. The left side of his face throbbed, but all things considered, things didn't seem too bad. Daniel suddenly remembered the light and their mother coming to him and talking to him...telling him to walk away from the light. Had Adam or anybody else seen her? Daniel wondered, but he found himself unable to talk about it. He was suddenly aware that he wanted to keep that memory to himself, though he wasn't quite sure why. Then a thought came to him. He was pinned under the truck and couldn't breathe.

"Adam, did I die?" Daniel blurted out rather suddenly.

Adam studied the kid. How would he know to ask that? How do I answer that? I don't wanna scare him. But something in Daniels' eyes told Adam that the kid already knew the answer somehow.

"Well, not exactly. I mean, you were down for a couple of minutes, but...Crane and Hannah did CPR. The ambulance got there quick, so, they took good care of you...you're fine now, Danny." Adam hoped his words wouldn't scare him too much. He wanted Daniel to be reassued that he was going to be just fine.

"Oh, ok." Daniel said then added. "Thanks for telling me. It's just something I needed to know."

"Ok, kiddo. Listen, I can tell you are fighting the pain medicine. Why don't you close your eyes and get a little shut eye. The rest of them will be wanting to see you soon enough. "mmm hmm, Daniel muttered, sinking further back in the pillows, his eyelids suddenly too heavy to keep open." As Adam let go of his hand Daniels' eyes suddenly popped back open. Hey, how's Crane doing? He's such a worry wart..."Daniel asked suddenly concerned about a certain overprotective brother.

"He's fine. Everybody's fine Daniel. Just get some rest, ok?" came Adam's reply. He watched as his brother drifted off into oblivion once more. He slipped quietly back out of the room and walked back towards the waiting area. The others met him halfway down the hallway. He studied Hannah, then Brian and finally Crane. They all looked so worried that he didn't hesitate with his answer.

"He's doing great. He talked to me. Doesn't seem to be in much pain, considering everything." Adam answered then explained that he had fallen back to sleep. "Let's give him an hour or so, then maybe y'all can visit with him for a bit. Where's the coffee?" Adam asked, stepping towards the waiting area. Hannah scurried ahead of him and began fixing him a cup. Brian excused himself to go call the other boys at home and let them know Daniel would be fine.

"Uh, Adam? I think I'm gonna go sit with him. I'll let him sleep. I just need to see him, ok?" Crane implored.

"Yeah, I figured you would say that," Adam shot a knowing look at Crane. Crane was very overprotective of the younger guys-especially Daniel.

Crane eased into the chair next to Daniel's bed. He wanted to hold his hand, but thought better of it. He didn't want to disturb the kid while he was resting. Crane sat at Daniel's bedside for about an hour, every once in a while, Daniel would mumble in his sleep. Crane couldn't make out most of his words but he'd thought several times that he'd heard Daniel call out _Mom!_ Maybe even _Dad_ one time. Crane didn't know what was going on in the boys' head, but it was tearing his heart out to hear it.

When Daniel opened his eyes, he was met with searing pain in his chest. He gasped out loud and heard Crane's voice suddenly. "Danny, what is it? You hurtin?" Crane asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Yeah, some." Daniel answered. Crane reached up and pushed the call button. When the nurse answered he asked her "Can my brother have some pain medicine now?"

The nurse answered that she'd be right in with it. She came in and administered it straight into the IV. "I'm giving you some more morphone, Daniel." She explained. Daniel thanked her and Crane observed how quickly his brothers' eyes glazed over and saw his eyelids getting really heavy again.

"Yeah, thanks" Crane also said to the nurse. "You are quite welcome. Let me know if he needs anything else." She replied to Crane.

"Crane?" Daniel began to speak. "I saw Mom when I was dead..." Crane sat up straight.

"What? What do you mean when you were dead, Danny?" then added, "You didn't die!" Crane cried out.

"She was in the light. She looked like an angel. I wanted to go with her, but she wouldn't let me. She told me I had to stay here. She said her and Daddy are with us all the time..." Daniels' words trailed off as the morphine kicked in and he was suddenly back asleep.

Daniel's words had stunned Crane..._must be the pain meds._ He thought quietly to himself.

But Crane had read about these things before. _Near Death Experiences._ People whose heart had stopped beating before being revived talked of seeing the light, or seeing loved ones who had gone on before them with light all around them. Some claimed to see the gates of Heaven.

Had Daniel had a near death experience? Science had a logical explanation for the phenomenon, of course. _A surge of electrical activity as the brain runs out of oxygen just before death _Crane remembered reading. Yet his family, being very spiritual had a strong belief in an afterlife and believed of both Heaven and Hell. They firmly believed that their parents were waiting for them in Heaven. They had to believe that. None of them could stand the idea of never ever seeing them again.

Crane knew that it was actually more logical to believe scientific theories, but...he rather liked the idea of his parents being with him at all times. He decided he wouldn't mention this to the others, though. Instead, he would wait until Daniel was up and around and maybe ask him more about it.

Daniel was released two days later and the family swarmed around him for the next few days. Hannah pampered him constantly. He had a hard time going up and down the stairs with the pain in his ribs so Hannah carted food up and down the stairs, feeding Daniel in the comfort of his own bed.

On Daniels' third night home, Crane was lying in his own bed, just across the room from Daniels' bed, when the memory of what Daniel had said to him in the hospital resurfaced. He couldn't help himself and had to ask the boy about it. "Hey Danny? Do you remember telling me that you saw Mom when you were...uh, when you stopped breathing?" Crane couldn't bring himself to use that word _"Dead"._ It sounded too awful.

A look of surprise came upon Daniel's face and Crane knew that the kid didn't remember it.

"When did I say that?" Daniel asked confused, but Crane took note that he wasn't denying it either.

"You woke up hurting right after they put you in a room. The nurse gave you a dose of morphine and before it knocked you back out, you sort of spilled it to me." Crane answered, while studying the boys' face.

Daniel stared at the ceiling for a minute. Why couldn't he tell Crane? He told Crane everything. He couldn't figure out why he wanted to be so private about it. He decided though that Crane deserved an answer.

"Yeah, she came to me in this beautiful light. There was music coming from all around her. It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I've never heard anything else like it before. She looked like an Angel. She was glowing in the light. She reached out to touch me and I could feel the warmth of the light on my face. I couldn't feel her hand ubt I knew the warmth was coming from her hand. Crane, I swear, it was real. She told me to go back and that y'all needed me. She called Adam _Junior_ and said I had big dreams to realize. She told me that she and Dad were with us all the time." Daniel explained.

"Did you see Dad?" Crane asked in wonderment.

"No, just Mom. She told me he was there with us too, though." Daniel replied thoughtfully. Then added, "Crane, I don't want to tell the others about it just now. I don't know if they'd believe me anyway, but...It feels like it's something special...personal, just between Mom and me. Maybe I'll tell them later on. Just not right now. Can you understand?" Daniel asked, his eyes pleading with Crane.

"Yeah, sure Danny," Crane replied almost too choked up to say the words audibly. "If that's what you want." He then added. "But thank's for telling me. It's a nice story and I believe it's real too!" And he did think it was real. He really did.

The end...


End file.
